Alexander 2 years of life. Alexander II short biography
The first spring day of 1881 was stained with the blood of the emperor, who entered the history of Russia as a great conductor of reforms, who rightfully deserved the epithet of liberator bestowed on him by the people. On this day, Emperor Alexander 2 (reigned 1855-1881) was killed by a bomb thrown by Ignaty Grinevitsky, a member of the Narodnaya Volya.
Young years of the heir to the throne
On April 17, 1818, fireworks rolled over Moscow - the heir to the throne, who received the name Alexander at holy baptism, was born at the imperial couple who stopped at the bishop's house. An interesting fact: after the death of Peter I, the only ruler of Russia who was born in her ancient capital, it was he - the future emperor Alexander 2.
His biography testifies that the childhood of the heir to the throne passed under the vigilant gaze of his father. Emperor Nicholas I paid close attention to the upbringing of his son. The duties of Alexander's home teacher were entrusted to the famous poet V. A. Zhukovsky, who not only taught him the grammar of the Russian language, but also instilled in the boy general fundamentals culture. Special disciplines such as foreign languages, military affairs, legislation and sacred history, he was taught by the best teachers of that time.
Innocent youthful love
Probably, the lyrical poems of his home teacher and elder friend V. A. Zhukovsky left their mark on the mind of young Alexander. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, a tendency to romantic love began to appear in him early, which caused discontent of his father, a man, by the way, also far from sinless. It is known that during a trip to London, Sasha was fascinated by a young girl - the future Queen Victoria, but these feelings were destined to fade away.
Beginning of state activity
Sovereign Nicholas I early began to attach his son to state affairs. Barely reaching adulthood, he was introduced to the Senate and the Holy Synod. In order for the future monarch to visually represent the scale of the empire that he was to manage, his father sent him on a trip to Russia in 1837, during which Alexander visited twenty-eight provinces. After that, he left for Europe to replenish his knowledge and complete his education.
The reign of Alexander 2 began in 1855, immediately after death interrupted the thirty-year period of the reign of his father Nicholas I. He inherited problems related to the peasant question, the financial crisis and the hopelessly lost Crimean War, which put Russia in a state of international isolation. All of them demanded an immediate solution.
Urgent Need for Reform
In order to bring the country out of the current crisis, reforms were required, the need for which was dictated by life itself. The first of these was the abolition of military settlements introduced back in 1810. The sovereign with one stroke of the pen sent archaism into the past, which did not benefit the army and provoked a social explosion. From this very urgent matter, Alexander II set about his great transformations.
Abolition of serfdom
A start was made. Following that, Emperor Alexander 2 carried out his main historical mission - the abolition. It is known that Empress Catherine II wrote about the need for this act, but in those years the consciousness of society was not ready for such radical changes, and the ruler prudently refrained from them.
Now, in the middle of the 19th century, Alexander 2, whose personality was formed under the influence of completely different historical realities, was aware that if slavery was not abolished by legislative means, it would serve as a detonator for the growing danger of a revolutionary explosion in the country.
The most progressive statesmen of his entourage adhered to the same point of view, but a numerous and influential opposition formed in court circles, consisting of dignitaries of the past reign, brought up in the barracks-bureaucratic spirit of Nicholas I.
Nevertheless, in 1861 the reform was carried out, and millions of serfs became equal citizens of Russia. However, this entailed a new problem, which Alexander 2 had to solve. In short, it boiled down to the fact that from now on free peasants needed to be provided with a livelihood, that is, land that belonged to the landowners. The solution to this problem dragged on for many years.
Finance and higher education reforms
The next important step, which marked the reign of Alexander 2, was financial reform. As a result of the abolition of serfdom in Russia, a completely different type of economy took shape - the capitalist one. The financial system of the state, based on did not meet the requirements of the time. For its modernization in 1860-1862. a new institution for the country is being created - the state bank. In addition, from now on, the budget, in accordance with the reform, was approved by the State Council and personally by the emperor.
Two years after the abolition of serfdom, it was time to make changes in higher education. In 1863, Alexander 2 devoted his next reform to this important undertaking. Briefly, it can be described as the establishment of a certain order of organization educational process at universities. It is fair to say that this reform was the most liberal of all carried out in the years of subsequent reigns.
Establishment of zemstvos and updated legal proceedings
Zemstvo and implemented in 1864 became important legislative acts. At that time, all the leading public figures of the country wrote about the urgent need for them. These voices were opposed by the same opposition, whose opinion Alexander 2 could not but listen to.
The personality of this monarch is largely characterized by his constant desire to balance between two different poles of public opinion - the progressive intelligentsia and court conservatism. However, in this case, he showed firmness.
As a result, two major innovations for the state were implemented - a reform that made it possible to rebuild the entire outdated judicial system in a European way, and the second, which changed the order of administrative management of the state.
Transformations in the army
Subsequently, self-government, secondary education and the military were added to them, as a result of which a transition was made from recruitment sets to universal military service. Their main organizer and guide to life was, as before, Alexander 2.
His biography is an example of the activities of a progressive and energetic, but not always consistent state ruler. Trying in his actions to combine the interests of the opposing social strata, as a result, he turned out to be alien to both the revolutionary-minded lower classes of society and the aristocratic elite.
Family life of the monarch
Alexander 2 is a multifaceted personality. Along with cold prudence, he coexisted with a tendency to romantic hobbies, which had become apparent in his youth. A series of fleeting salon intrigues with the maids of honor of the court did not stop even after his marriage to Princess Maria Augusta of Hesse, who adopted the name of Maria Alexandrovna in Orthodoxy. She was a loving wife, endowed with the gift of sincere forgiveness. After her death, caused by consumption, the sovereign married his longtime favorite Dolgorukova, for whom his tragic death was an irreparable blow.
The end of the life of the great reformer
Alexander 2 is a tragic person in his own way. He devoted all his strength and energy to the rise of Russia to the European level, but by his actions he largely gave impetus to the destructive forces that were emerging in those years in the country, which subsequently plunged the state into the abyss of a bloody revolution. The murder of Alexander 2 was the final link in the chain of assassination attempts made on him. There are seven of them.
The last, which cost the life of the sovereign, was committed on March 1, 1881 on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg. It was organized and carried out by a group of terrorists who called themselves "Narodnaya Volya". It consisted of people from various social strata of society. They had little idea of how to build a new world, which they constantly talked about, nevertheless, they were united by the desire to destroy the foundations of the old.
To achieve this goal, the Narodnaya Volya did not spare their own, much less other people's lives. According to them, the assassination of Alexander 2 was supposed to be a signal for a general uprising, but in reality it gave rise to only fear and a sense of hopelessness in society, which always appear when the law is violated by brute force. Today, the monument to the Tsar-Liberator is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, erected on the site of his death.
March 3, 1855 Alexander II Nikolayevich ascended the throne. In his first speech to the members of the Council, the new emperor said: “My unforgettable Parent loved Russia and all his life he constantly thought about her only benefit. In his constant and daily labors with me, he told me that I want to take for myself everything unpleasant and everything that is difficult, if only to give you Russia arranged, happy and calm. Providence judged otherwise, and the late Sovereign, in last hours of my life, told me I hand over my team to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order I wanted, leaving you a lot of work and worries.“
First of important steps was the end of the bloody Crimean War of 1853-1856. Alexander II signed the Treaty of Paris in March 1856. When external enemies ceased to torment Russia, the emperor set about restoring the country and he began with reforms.
Great Reforms of Alexander II.
Abolition of military settlements in 1857.
At the beginning of the 19th century, in the era of the wars with Napoleon, a proposal arose to organize military settlements on a large scale in the interior provinces. This idea was put forward by Emperor Alexander I. He hoped that military settlements would replace reserve armies in Russia and would make it possible, if necessary, to increase the number of troops several times. Such settlements gave the lower ranks the opportunity during the service to remain among their families and continue their agricultural activities, and in old age provide themselves with a home and food.
But the military settlements did not last long, bringing only losses to the treasury. After the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander II, Dmitry Stolypin, an adjutant wing, was sent to military settlements. Having traveled all the settlements, Stolypin informed the emperor that the population of the districts had become very impoverished, many owners did not have livestock, gardening fell into decay, buildings in the districts required repair, and to provide food for the troops, such an amount of land was needed that only uncomfortable areas. Both the local and the main authorities of the military settlements came to the conclusion that the military settlements were unprofitable in material terms and did not achieve their goal. In view of this, in 1857 the military settlements and districts of arable soldiers were abolished and transferred to the control of the Ministry of State Property.
The abolition of serfdom in 1861.
The first steps to limit and further abolish serfdom were made by Paul I in 1797 with the signing of the Manifesto on the three-day corvee, after Alexander I in 1803 with the signing of the Decree on free cultivators, and also by Nicholas I, who continued the peasant policy of Alexander I.
The new government, assembled by Alexander II, decided not only to continue this policy, but also to completely resolve the peasant issue. And already on March 3, 1861 in St. Petersburg, Alexander II signed the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom, which consisted of 17 legislative acts.
- Peasants ceased to be considered serfs and began to be considered temporarily liable. The peasants received full civil legal capacity in everything that was not related to their special class rights and obligations - membership in a rural society and ownership of allotment land.
- Peasant houses, buildings, all movable property of the peasants were recognized as their personal property.
- The peasants received elective self-government, the lowest economic unit of self-government was the rural society, the highest administrative unit was the volost.
- The landowners retained ownership of all the lands that belonged to them, but they were obliged to provide the peasants with a house adjoining plot and a field allotment for use. The lands of the field allotment were not provided personally to the peasants, but for the collective use of rural communities, which could distribute them among the peasant farms at their discretion. The minimum size of a peasant allotment for each locality was established by law.
- For the use of allotment land, the peasants had to serve a corvée or pay dues and did not have the right to refuse it for 49 years.
- The size of the field allotment and duties had to be fixed in charter letters, which were drawn up by the landowners for each estate and checked by peace mediators.
- Rural communities were given the right to buy out the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the field plot, after which all obligations of the peasants to the landowner ceased. The peasants who redeemed the allotment were called peasant proprietors. Peasants could also refuse the right to redeem and receive from the landlord free of charge an allotment in the amount of a quarter of the allotment that they had the right to redeem. When endowed with a free allotment, the temporarily obligated state also ceased.
- The state, on preferential terms, provided the landlords with financial guarantees for receiving redemption payments, accepting their payment. Peasants, accordingly, had to pay redemption payments to the state.
Many historians consider the reform of Alexander II incomplete and argue that it did not lead to the liberation of the peasants, but only determined the mechanism for such liberation, and unfair. From the speech of the "populist" I.N. Myshkina: “The peasants saw that they were endowed with sand and swamps and some scattered patches of land on which it was impossible to farm, when they saw that this was done with the permission of the state authorities, when they saw that there was no that mysterious article of the law that they assumed as protecting the interests of the people, they were convinced that they had nothing to rely on state power, that they could only rely on themselves.
"The Liberation of the Peasants (Reading the Manifesto)". Boris Kustodiev. 1907
Financial Reform.
The abolition of serfdom created a new type of economy in Russia. The implementation of reforms began on May 22, 1862 with the introduction of the "Rules on the preparation, consideration and execution of the state list and financial estimates of ministries and main departments." The first step was the introduction of the principle of transparency into finance and the beginning of the publication of the state budget. In 1864-68, treasuries were organized within the structure of the Ministry of Finance, which administered all state revenues. In 1865, bodies of local financial self-government were created - control chambers.
With the beginning of the reforms, trade also changed. In order to eradicate corruption, the government decided to replace the previously used farms with excise stamps for alcohol and tobacco. Wine farming, the income from which traditionally formed the lion's share of the budget, was canceled. From now on, excises could be obtained from special excise offices. The monetary reform of 1862 was delayed because the state did not have enough gold and silver to exchange paper money. It was carried out only in 1895-97. under the direction of Sergei Witte.
Modernization fundamentally reorganized the state financial system, making it more open and more efficient. Strict accounting of the state budget put the economy on a new path of development, corruption decreased, the treasury was spent on important items and events, officials became more responsible for managing money. Thanks to new system the state was able to overcome the crisis and mitigate the negative consequences of the peasant reform.
University Reform.
In 1863, the University Charter was adopted. The new charter gave universities more autonomy in matters of internal management and expanded the possibilities of taking into account local conditions for their development, created more favorable conditions for scientific and learning activities, increased the attractiveness of teaching at universities for young people and contributed to the establishment of a sufficient number of qualified teachers in university departments in the future, and also provided for a number of special measures to stimulate students to master the sciences. The trustee of the educational district only had the responsibility of overseeing the legality of the actions of the University Council. Students who studied at the university did not have the right to a corporate structure, outsiders were not allowed to attend lectures at all.
military reform.
In 1860-1870 the military reform was carried out. The main provisions of the reforms were developed by the Minister of War D. A. Milyutin. The results of the reform were:
- reduction in the size of the army by 40%;
- the creation of a network of military and cadet schools, where representatives of all classes were admitted;
- improvement of the military command and control system, introduction of military districts, creation of the General Staff;
- creation of transparent and adversarial military courts, military prosecutor's office;
- the abolition of corporal punishment (with the exception of rods for special "penalized") in the army;
- rearmament of the army and navy (adoption of rifled steel guns, new rifles, etc.), reconstruction of state-owned military factories;
- the introduction of universal conscription in 1874 instead of recruitment and a reduction in the terms of service. Under the new law, all young people who have reached the age of 20 are called up, but the government determines the required number of recruits every year, and draws only this number from the recruits, although usually no more than 20-25% of recruits were called up for service. The call was not subject to the only son of the parents, the only breadwinner in the family, and also if the older brother of the recruit is serving or has served. Those enlisted in the service are listed in it: in the ground forces 15 years - 6 years in the ranks and 9 years in the reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in the reserve. For those who received elementary education the term of active service is reduced to 4 years, those who graduated from a city school - up to 3 years, a gymnasium - up to one and a half years, and who had higher education- up to six months.
- development and introduction of new military laws in the troops.
Was held urban reform. It served as an impetus for the commercial and industrial development of cities, consolidated the system of urban public administration. One of the results of the reforms of Alexander II was the inclusion of society in civilian life. The foundation was laid for a new Russian political culture.
As well as the Judicial Reform, which comprehensively reformed the judiciary and legal proceedings, and the Zemstvo reform, which provided for the creation of a system of local self-government in rural areas - zemstvo institutions.
Foreign policy.
In the reign of Alexander II there was an expansion Russian Empire. During this period, Central Asia was annexed to Russia (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan), North Caucasus, Far East, Bessarabia, Batumi. Thanks to Prince Alexander Gorchakov, Russia regained its rights on the Black Sea, having achieved the lifting of the ban on keeping its fleet there. The meaning of the annexation of new territories, in particular Central Asia, was incomprehensible part Russian society. Saltykov-Shchedrin criticized the behavior of generals and officials who used the Central Asian war for personal enrichment, and M.N. Pokrovsky pointed out the senselessness of the conquest of Central Asia for Russia. These conquests resulted in great human losses and material costs.
In 1867, Russian America (Alaska) was sold to the United States for $7.2 million. In 1875, an agreement was concluded in St. Petersburg, according to which all the Kuril Islands were transferred to Japan in exchange for Sakhalin. Both Alaska and the Kuril Islands were remote overseas possessions, unprofitable from an economic point of view. In addition, they were difficult to defend. The concession for twenty years ensured the neutrality of the United States and the Empire of Japan in relation to the actions of Russia in the Far East and made it possible to release the necessary forces to secure more habitable territories.
In 1858, Russia concluded the Aigun Treaty with China, and in 1860 the Beijing Treaty, according to which it received the vast territories of Transbaikalia, the Khabarovsk Territory, a significant part of Manchuria, including Primorye (Ussuri Territory).
Assassination and Death of Alexander II.
Several assassination attempts were made on Alexander II. On April 16, 1866, the Russian revolutionary Karakozov had the very first assassination attempt. When Alexander II was heading from the gates of the Summer Garden to his carriage, a shot rang out. The bullet flew over the head of the emperor, the shooter was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was standing nearby, who saved the life of the emperor.
On May 25, 1867, an assassination attempt was made by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky in Paris. The bullet hit the horse. April 14, 1879 in St. Petersburg. Russian revolutionary Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver.
On December 1, 1879, there was an attempt to blow up the imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that a steam locomotive broke down in Kharkov, which was running half an hour earlier than the royal one. The tsar did not want to wait for the broken engine to be repaired and the tsar's train went first. Not knowing about this circumstance, the terrorists let the first train through, blowing up a mine under the fourth car of the second.
On February 17, 1880, Khalturin carried out an explosion on the ground floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor dined on the third floor, he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time, the guards of 11 people on the second floor died.
March 13, 1881 there was a fatal attempt. The royal motorcade turned from Inzhenernaya Street to the embankment, heading for the Theater Bridge, Rysakov threw a bomb under the horses of the emperor's carriage. The explosion injured the guards and some people nearby, but the emperor himself was not injured. The man who threw the projectile was detained.
Life coachman Sergeev, captain Kulebyakin and colonel Dvorzhitsky urged the emperor to leave the scene of the assassination as soon as possible, but Alexander felt that military dignity required to look at the wounded Circassians who guarded him and say a few words to them. After that, he approached the detained Rysakov and asked him about something, then went back to the site of the explosion, and then Grinevitsky, who was standing at the canal grate and not noticed by the guards, threw a bomb wrapped in a napkin at the emperor’s feet.
The blast wave threw Alexander II to the ground, blood gushed from his shattered legs. The fallen emperor whispered, "Take me to the palace... there... to die...". By order of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, who arrived from the Mikhailovsky Palace, the bleeding emperor was taken to the Winter Palace.
The emperor was carried in his arms and laid on the bed. Life physician Botkin, when asked by the heir how long the emperor would live, replied: "From 10 to 15 minutes." At 3:35 p.m., the imperial standard was lowered from the flagpole of the Winter Palace, announcing the death of Emperor Alexander II to the population of St. Petersburg.
Emperor Alexander II on his deathbed. Photo by S. Levitsky.
Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from the Romanov dynasty
Alexander II
short biography
Alexander II Nikolaevich(April 29, 1818, Moscow - March 13, 1881, St. Petersburg) - Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland (1855-1881) from the Romanov dynasty. The eldest son, first of the grand-ducal, and since 1825 of the imperial couple, Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna.
He went down in Russian history as a conductor of large-scale reforms. Awarded with a special epithet in Russian pre-revolutionary and Bulgarian historiography - Liberator(in connection with the abolition of serfdom according to the manifesto on February 19 (March 3), 1861 and the victory in the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), respectively). He died as a result of a terrorist act organized by the secret revolutionary organization Narodnaya Volya.
Childhood, education and upbringing
He was born on April 29, 1818 at 11 am in the Nicholas Palace of the Moscow Kremlin, where all imperial family arrived at the beginning of April for fasting and meeting Easter. Since the older brothers of Nikolai Pavlovich had no sons, the baby was already perceived as a potential heir to the throne. On the occasion of his birth in Moscow, a salute of 201 cannon salvos was given. On May 5, Charlotte Lieven brought the baby to the Cathedral of the Chudov Monastery, where the Moscow Archbishop Augustine performed the sacraments of baptism and chrismation on the baby, in honor of which Maria Feodorovna gave a gala dinner. Alexander is the only native of Moscow who has been at the head of Russia since 1725.
He was educated at home under the personal supervision of his parent, who paid special attention to the education of the heir. The first persons under Alexander were: since 1825 - Colonel K. K. Merder, since 1827 - Adjutant General P. P. Ushakov, since 1834 - Adjutant General Kh. A. Liven. In 1825, court adviser V. A. Zhukovsky was appointed mentor (with the duty to manage the entire process of upbringing and education and the assignment to draw up a “learning plan”) and teacher of the Russian language in 1825.
Archpriests G. P. Pavsky and V. B. Bazhanov (God’s Law), M. M. Speransky (legislation), K. I. Arseniev (statistics and history), E. F. Kankrin (finances) took part in the training of Alexander , F. I. Brunnov (foreign policy), E. D. Collins (physical and mathematical sciences), K. B. Trinius (natural history), G. I. Hess (technology and chemistry). Alexander also studied military sciences; English, French and German, drawing; fencing and other disciplines.
According to numerous testimonies, in his youth he was very impressionable and amorous. So, during a trip to London in 1839, he had a fleeting crush on the young Queen Victoria (later, as monarchs, they experienced mutual hostility and enmity).
Until September 3 (15), 1831, he had the title of "Imperial Highness the Grand Duke". From that date, he was officially called "The Sovereign Heir, Tsarevich and Grand Duke."
Beginning of state activity
On April 17 (29), 1834, Alexander Nikolayevich turned sixteen years old. Since this day fell on the Tuesday of Holy Week, the celebration of the proclamation of the age of majority and the taking of the oath was postponed until the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Nicholas I instructed Speransky to prepare his son for this important act, explaining to him the meaning and significance of the oath. On April 22 (May 4), 1834, the swearing-in of Tsarevich Alexander took place in the large church of the Winter Palace. After taking the oath, Tsesarevich was introduced by his father to the main state institutions empire: in 1834 to the Senate, in 1835 he was introduced to the Holy Governing Synod, from 1841 a member of the State Council, from 1842 - the Committee of Ministers.
In 1837, Alexander made a long trip across Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia, and in 1838-1839 he visited Europe. In these travels, he was accompanied by fellow students and adjutants of the sovereign A. V. Patkul and, in part, I. M. Vielgorsky.
The military service of the future emperor was quite successful. In 1836, he already became a major general, from 1844 a full general, commanded the guards infantry. Since 1849, Alexander is the head military educational institutions, Chairman of the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, with the announcement of the St. Petersburg province under martial law, he commanded all the troops of the capital.
The Tsarevich had the rank of Adjutant General, was a member of the General Staff of His Imperial Majesty, was the ataman of all Cossack troops; was listed as part of a number of elite regiments, including the Cavalier Guard, the Life Guards of the Cavalry, Cuirassier, Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Izmailovsky. He was Chancellor of Alexander University, Doctor of Laws of Oxford University, honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy, Society for the Encouragement of Artists, St. Petersburg University.
Reign of Alexander II
sovereign title
Large title: “By God's hastening mercy, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Vladimir, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauric Chersonis, Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volyn , Podolsky and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Lifland, Courland and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Bialystok, Korelsky, Tver, Yugorsky, Perm, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novgorod Nizovsky lands, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozersky, Udora, Obdorsky, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav and all Northern countries, Sovereign and Sovereign of Iversky, Kartalinsky, Georgian and Kabardian lands and Armenian regions, Cherkasy and Mountain Princes and other hereditary Sovereign and Possessor, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarsen and Oldenburg and others, and others, and others.
Abbreviated title: "By God's hastening mercy, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Tsar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, and so on, and so on, and so on."
The country faced a number of complex domestic and foreign policy issues (peasant, eastern, Polish and others); finances were extremely upset by the unsuccessful Crimean War, during which Russia found itself in complete international isolation.
Having ascended the throne on the day of the death of his father on February 18 (March 2), 1855, Alexander II issued a manifesto that read:<…>Before the face of God, who is invisibly co-present with US, let us accept the sacred vow to always have the welfare of OUR Fatherland as a single goal. Yes, guided, patronized by Providence, who called US to this great service, let us establish Russia on higher level power and glory, may the constant desires and views of OUR August predecessors PETER, CATHERINE, ALEXANDER Blessed and Unforgettable OUR Parent be fulfilled through US.<…>"
Signed on the original by His Imperial Majesty's own hand ALEXANDER
According to the journal of the State Council for February 19 (March 3), 1855, in his first speech to the members of the Council, the new emperor said, in particular: “<…>My unforgettable Parent loved Russia and all his life he constantly thought about its only benefit.<…>In His constant and daily labors with Me, He told Me: “I want to take for Myself everything that is unpleasant and difficult, if only to give You Russia arranged, happy and calm.” Providence judged otherwise, and the late Sovereign, in the last hours of his life, said to me: “I hand over to you my command, but, unfortunately, not in the order I wished, leaving you a lot of work and worries.”
The first of the important steps was the conclusion of the Peace of Paris in March 1856 - on conditions that were not the worst in the current situation (in England, the mood was strong to continue the war until the complete defeat and dismemberment of the Russian Empire).
In the spring of 1856 he visited Helsingfors (Grand Duchy of Finland), where he spoke at the university and the Senate, then Warsaw, where he called on the local nobility to “leave dreams” (French pas de rêveries), and Berlin, where he had a very important meeting for him with the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV (his mother's brother), with whom he secretly sealed a "dual alliance", thus breaking through the foreign policy blockade of Russia.
A “thaw” began in the socio-political life of the country. On the occasion of the coronation, which took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin on August 26 (September 7), 1856 (the priesthood was headed by Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow (Drozdov); the emperor sat on the throne of Tsar Ivan III from ivory), the Supreme Manifesto granted benefits and indulgences to a number of categories of subjects, in particular, to the Decembrists, Petrashevists, participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831; recruiting was suspended for 3 years; in 1857 military settlements were liquidated.
Great Reforms
The reign of Alexander II was marked by reforms of unprecedented scale, which received the name "great reforms" in pre-revolutionary literature. The main ones are the following:
- Liquidation of military settlements (1857)
- Abolition of serfdom (1861)
- Financial reform (1863)
- Reform of higher education (1863)
- Zemstvo and Judicial reforms (1864)
- City government reform (1870)
- Reform of secondary education (1871)
- Military reform (1874)
These transformations solved a number of long-standing socio-economic problems, cleared the way for the development of capitalism in Russia, expanded the boundaries of civil society and the rule of law, but were not brought to the end.
By the end of the reign of Alexander II, under the influence of conservatives, some reforms (judicial, zemstvo) were limited. The counter-reforms launched by his successor Alexander III also affected the provisions of the peasant reform and the reform of city self-government.
National politics
A new Polish national liberation uprising on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine flared up on January 22 (February 3), 1863. In addition to the Poles, there were many Belarusians and Lithuanians among the rebels. By May 1864, the uprising was crushed by Russian troops. 128 people were executed for their involvement in the uprising; 12,500 were sent to other areas (some of them subsequently raised the Circum-Baikal uprising of 1866), 800 were sent to hard labor.
The uprising accelerated the implementation of the peasant reform in the regions affected by it, and at the same time on more favorable terms for the peasants than in the rest of Russia. The government has taken steps to develop elementary school in Lithuania and Belarus, hoping that the education of the peasantry in the Russian Orthodox spirit would lead to a political and cultural reorientation of the population. Measures were also taken to Russify Poland. In order to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church on the social life of Poland after the uprising, the tsarist government decided to convert the Ukrainians of the Kholmshchyna belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to Orthodoxy. At times, these actions met with resistance. The inhabitants of Pratulin village refused. On January 24 (February 5), 1874, believers gathered near the parish church to prevent the transfer of the church to the control of the Orthodox Church. After that, a detachment of soldiers opened fire on people. 13 people died, who were canonized by the Catholic Church as Pratulin martyrs.
At the height of the January Uprising, the emperor approved the secret Valuev circular on the suspension of printing religious, educational, and elementary reading literature in Ukrainian. Censorship allowed "only such works in this language that belong to the field of fine literature." In 1876, the Emsky Decree followed, aimed at restricting the use and teaching of the Ukrainian language in the Russian Empire.
After the uprising of a part of the Polish society, which did not receive significant support from the Lithuanians and Latvians (in Courland and the partially Polonized regions of Latgale), certain measures were taken to patronize the ethno-cultural development of these peoples.
There was an eviction to the Ottoman Empire of a part of the North Caucasian tribes (mainly Circassians) from the Black Sea coast, numbering several hundred thousand people in 1863-67. as soon as the Caucasian war ended.
Under Alexander II, there were significant changes in relation to the Jewish Pale of Settlement. In a number of decrees issued between 1859 and 1880, a significant part of the Jews received the right to freely settle on the territory of Russia. As A. I. Solzhenitsyn writes, merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, university graduates, their families and service personnel, as well as, for example, “persons of free professions”, received the right to free settlement. And in 1880, by decree of the Minister of the Interior, it was allowed to leave for residence outside the Pale of Settlement those Jews who settled illegally.
autocracy reform
At the end of the reign of Alexander II, a project was drawn up to create two bodies under the tsar - the expansion of the already existing State Council (which included mainly large nobles and officials) and the creation of a "General Commission" (congress) with the possible participation of representatives from the zemstvos, but mainly formed "according to appointment" of the government. It was not about a constitutional monarchy, in which the supreme body is a democratically elected parliament (which did not exist in Russia and was not planned), but about a possible limitation of autocratic power in favor of bodies with limited representation (although it was assumed that at the first stage they would be purely deliberative). ). The authors of this "constitutional project" were the Minister of Internal Affairs Loris-Melikov, who received emergency powers at the end of the reign of Alexander II, as well as the Minister of Finance Abaza and the Minister of War Milyutin. Alexander II, shortly before his death, approved this plan, but they did not have time to discuss it at the Council of Ministers, and a discussion was scheduled for March 4 (16), 1881, with subsequent entry into force (which did not take place due to the assassination of the king).
The discussion of this project for the reform of the autocracy took place already under Alexander III, on March 8 (20), 1881. Although the overwhelming majority of ministers spoke in favor, Alexander III accepted the point of view of Count Stroganov (“power will pass from the hands of an autocratic monarch ... into the hands of various fools who think ... only about his own personal benefit") and K. P. Pobedonostsev ("we must think not about the establishment of a new talking shop, ... but about business"). The final decision was enshrined in a special Manifesto on the inviolability of the autocracy, the draft of which was prepared by Pobedonostsev.
Economic development of the country
From the beginning of the 1860s, an economic crisis began in the country, which a number of economic historians associate with the refusal of Alexander II from industrial protectionism and the transition to a liberal policy in foreign trade (at the same time, historian P. Bairoch sees one of the reasons for the transition to this policy in the defeat of Russia in Crimean War). The liberal policy in foreign trade continued even after the introduction of the new customs tariff of 1868. So, it was calculated that, compared with 1841, import duties in 1868 decreased on average by more than 10 times, and for some types of imports - even 20-40 times.
Evidence of slow industrial growth during this period is the production of pig iron, the increase of which was only slightly ahead of population growth and noticeably lagged behind other countries. Contrary to the goals declared by the peasant reform of 1861, productivity in agriculture countries did not increase until the 1880s, despite the rapid progress in other countries (USA, Western Europe), and the situation in this most important sector of the Russian economy also only worsened.
The only industry that developed rapidly was railway transport: the country's railway network grew rapidly, which also stimulated its own locomotive and wagon building. However, the development of railways was accompanied by many abuses and the deterioration of the financial situation of the state. Thus, the state guaranteed the established private railway companies full coverage of their expenses and also the maintenance of a guaranteed rate of return through subsidies. The result was huge budget spending to maintain private companies.
Foreign policy
In the reign of Alexander II, Russia returned to the policy of the all-round expansion of the Russian Empire, previously characteristic of the reign of Catherine II. During this period, Central Asia, the North Caucasus, the Far East, Bessarabia, Batumi were annexed to Russia. Victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. The advance to Central Asia ended successfully (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of Russia). In 1871, thanks to A. M. Gorchakov, Russia restored its rights to the Black Sea, having achieved the abolition of the ban on keeping its fleet there. In connection with the war in 1877, a major uprising took place in Chechnya and Dagestan, which was brutally suppressed.
After a long resistance, the emperor decided to go to war with Ottoman Empire 1877-1878. As a result of the war, he accepted the rank of Field Marshal (April 30 (May 12), 1878).
The meaning of joining some new territories, especially Central Asia, was incomprehensible to a part of Russian society. Thus, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin criticized the behavior of generals and officials who used the Central Asian war for personal enrichment, and M. N. Pokrovsky pointed out the senselessness of the conquest of Central Asia for Russia. Meanwhile, this conquest resulted in great human losses and material costs.
In 1876-1877, Alexander II took a personal part in the conclusion of a secret agreement with Austria in connection with the Russian-Turkish war, which, according to some historians and diplomats of the second half of the 19th century, resulted in the Treaty of Berlin (1878), which entered Russian historiography as "flawed" in relation to the self-determination of the Balkan peoples (significantly curtailed the Bulgarian state and transferred Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria). The criticism of contemporaries and historians was caused by examples of the unsuccessful "behavior" of the emperor and his brothers (grand dukes) in the theater of war.
In 1867 Alaska (Russian America) was sold to the United States for $7.2 million. In addition, he signed the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875, according to which he transferred all the Kuril Islands to Japan in exchange for Sakhalin. Both Alaska and the Kuril Islands were remote overseas possessions, unprofitable from an economic point of view. In addition, they were difficult to defend. The concession for twenty years ensured the neutrality of the United States and the Empire of Japan in relation to the actions of Russia in the Far East and made it possible to release the necessary forces to secure more habitable territories.
"Attack by surprise." Painting by V. V. Vereshchagin, 1871
In 1858, Russia concluded the Aigun Treaty with China, and in 1860 the Beijing Treaty, under which it received vast territories of Transbaikalia, the Khabarovsk Territory, a significant part of Manchuria, including Primorye (“Ussuri Territory”).
In 1859, Russian representatives founded the Palestine Committee, which was later transformed into the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (IOPS), and in 1861 the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan arose. To expand missionary activity, on June 29 (July 11), 1872, the department of the Aleutian diocese was transferred to San Francisco (California) and the diocese began to extend its care to the whole of North America.
He refused the annexation and Russian colonization of the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea, to which Alexander II was called upon by the famous Russian traveler and explorer N. N. Miklukho-Maclay. Australia and Germany took advantage of Alexander II's indecision in this matter, soon dividing the "ownerless" territories of New Guinea and adjacent islands among themselves.
The Soviet historian P. A. Zaionchkovsky believed that the government of Alexander II pursued a “Germanophile policy” that did not meet the interests of the country, which was facilitated by the position of the monarch himself: “Revering for his uncle, the Prussian king, and later the German emperor Wilhelm I, he did his best to promote education united militaristic Germany. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, "St. George's crosses were generously distributed to German officers, and badges of the order to soldiers, as if they were fighting for the interests of Russia."
Results of the Greek plebiscite
In 1862, after the overthrow in Greece as a result of an uprising reigning king Otto I (of the Wittelsbach family), the Greeks held a plebiscite at the end of the year to choose a new monarch. There were no ballots with candidates, so any Greek citizen could propose his candidacy or type of government in the country. The results were made public in February 1863.
Among those entered by the Greeks was Alexander II, who came in third with less than 1 percent of the vote. However, representatives of the Russian, British and French royal houses could not occupy the Greek throne, according to the London Conference of 1832.
Growing public discontent
Unlike the previous reign, which was almost not marked by social protests, the era of Alexander II was characterized by an increase in public discontent. Along with a sharp increase in the number of peasant uprisings, many protest groups appeared among the intelligentsia and workers. In the 1860s, a group of S. Nechaev, a circle of Zaichnevsky, a circle of Olshevsky, a circle of Ishutin, an organization of Land and Freedom, a group of officers and students (Ivanitsky and others) arose, preparing a peasant uprising. In the same period, the first revolutionaries appeared (Pyotr Tkachev, Sergey Nechaev), who propagated the ideology of terrorism as a method of fighting power. In 1866, the first attempt was made to assassinate Alexander II, who was shot by D. Karakozov.
In the 1870s, these trends increased significantly. This period includes such protest groups and movements as the circle of Kursk Jacobins, the circle of Chaikovites, the circle of Perovskaya, the circle of Dolgushinites, the groups of Lavrov and Bakunin, the circles of Dyakov, Siryakov, Semyanovsky, the South Russian Union of Workers, the Kyiv Commune, the Northern Workers Union, the new organization Land and Will and a number of others. Most of these circles and groups until the end of the 1870s. engaged in anti-government propaganda and agitation, only from the end of the 1870s. begins a clear tilt towards terrorist acts. In 1873-1874. 2-3 thousand people, mostly from among the intelligentsia, went to the countryside under the guise of ordinary people with the aim of propagating revolutionary ideas (the so-called "going to the people").
After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 and the attempt on his life by D. V. Karakozov on April 4 (16), 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of Dmitry Tolstoy, Fyodor Trepov, Pyotr Shuvalov to the highest government posts, which led to tougher measures in the area domestic policy.
The intensification of repressions by the police, especially in relation to “going to the people” (the process of one hundred and ninety-three populists), aroused public outrage and marked the beginning of terrorist activity, which subsequently assumed a massive character. Thus, the assassination attempt by Vera Zasulich in 1878 on the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov was undertaken in response to the mistreatment of prisoners in the “trial of one hundred and ninety-three”. Despite the irrefutable evidence that testified to the attempt, the jury acquitted her, she received a standing ovation in the courtroom, and on the street she was greeted by an enthusiastic demonstration of a large mass of the public gathered at the courthouse.
Alexander II. Photo taken between 1878 and 1881
During the following years, assassination attempts were organized:
- 1878: to the Kyiv prosecutor Kotlyarevsky, to the gendarmerie officer Geiking in Kyiv, to the chief of the gendarmes Mezentsev in St. Petersburg;
- 1879: on the Kharkov governor Prince Kropotkin, on the police agent Reinstein in Moscow, on the chief of the gendarmes Drenteln in St. Petersburg
- February 1880: an attempt was made on the "dictator" Loris-Melikov.
- 1878-1881: there was a series of assassination attempts on Alexander II.
Towards the end of his reign, protest moods spread among different sections of society, including the intelligentsia, part of the nobility and the army. A new upsurge of peasant uprisings began in the countryside, and a mass strike movement began in the factories. The head of the government P. A. Valuev, giving a general description of the mood in the country, wrote in 1879: “In general, some kind of vague displeasure is manifested in all segments of the population. Everyone complains about something and seems to want and wait for a change.
The public applauded the terrorists, the number of terrorist organizations themselves grew - for example, Narodnaya Volya, which sentenced the tsar to death, had hundreds of active members. Hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. and the war in Central Asia, the commander-in-chief of the Turkestan army, General Mikhail Skobelev, at the end of Alexander's reign, showed strong dissatisfaction with his policy and even, according to the testimony of A. Koni and P. Kropotkin, expressed his intention to arrest royal family. These and other facts gave rise to the version that Skobelev was preparing a military coup to overthrow the Romanovs.
According to historian P. A. Zaionchkovsky, the growth of protest sentiment and the explosion of terrorist activity caused “fear and confusion” in government circles. As one of his contemporaries, A. Planson, wrote, “Only during an armed uprising that has already flared up is there such a panic that seized everyone in Russia in the late 70s and 80s. In all of Russia, everyone fell silent in clubs, in hotels, on the streets and in the markets ... And both in the provinces and in St. Petersburg, everyone was waiting for something unknown, but terrible, no one was sure of the future.
As historians point out, against the backdrop of growing political and social instability, the government took more and more emergency measures: first, military courts were introduced, then, in April 1879, temporary governors-general were appointed in a number of cities, and finally, in February 1880 The “dictatorship” of Loris-Melikov (who was given emergency powers) was introduced, which remained until the end of the reign of Alexander II - first in the form of the chairman of the Supreme Administrative Commission, then in the form of the minister of internal affairs and the de facto head of government.
The emperor himself last years life was on the brink nervous breakdown. Chairman of the Committee of Ministers P. A. Valuev wrote in his diary on June 3 (15), 1879: “The sovereign looks tired and himself spoke of nervous irritation, which he intensifies to hide. Crowned ruin. In an era where strength is needed in it, obviously, it cannot be counted on.
Assassination attempts and murder
History of failed assassination attempts
Several assassination attempts were made on Alexander II:
- D. V. Karakozov April 4 (16), 1866. When Alexander II was heading from the gates of the Summer Garden to his carriage, a shot rang out. The bullet flew over the head of the emperor: the shooter was pushed by a peasant, Osip Komissarov, who was standing nearby.
The gendarmes and some of the eyewitnesses rushed at the shooter and knocked him down. "Guys! I shot for you!" shouted the terrorist.
Alexander ordered to take him to the carriage and asked: - Are you a Pole? - Russian - answered the terrorist. - Why did you shoot me? - You deceived the people: you promised them land, but did not give it. “Take him to the Third Section,” said Alexander, and the shooter, along with the one who seemed to have prevented him from hitting the king, was taken to the gendarmes. The shooter identified himself as the peasant Aleksey Petrov, and the other detainee as Osip Komissarov, a St. Kostroma province. It so happened that among the noble witnesses was the hero of Sevastopol, General E. I. Totleben, and he declared that he clearly saw how Komissarov pushed the terrorist and thereby saved the life of the sovereign.
- The assassination attempt on May 25, 1867 was committed by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky in Paris; the bullet hit the horse.
- A. K. Solovyov April 2 (14), 1879 in St. Petersburg. Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver, including 4 at the emperor.
On August 26 (September 7), 1879, the Executive Committee of the People's Will decided to assassinate Alexander II.
- November 19 (December 1), 1879, there was an attempt to blow up the imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that the steam locomotive of the retinue train broke down in Kharkov, which ran half an hour earlier than the royal one. The king did not want to wait and the royal train went first. Not knowing about this circumstance, the terrorists let the first train through, blowing up a mine under the fourth car of the second.
- On February 5 (17), 1880, S. N. Khalturin carried out an explosion on the first floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor dined on the third floor, he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time, the guards (11 people) on the second floor died.
For the protection of public order and the fight against revolutionary movement On February 12 (24), 1880, the Supreme Administrative Commission was established, headed by the liberal-minded Count Loris-Melikov.
Death and burial. Society reaction
... An explosion struck
From Catherine's channel,
Covering Russia with a cloud.
Everything predicted from afar
That the hour will be fatal,
What will such a card fall ...
And this century is the hour of the day -
The last one is named the first of March.Alexander Blok, "Retribution"
March 1 (13), 1881, at 3:35 pm, died in the Winter Palace as a result of a mortal wound received on the embankment of the Catherine Canal (Petersburg) at about 2:25 pm on the same day - from a bomb explosion (the second during the assassination attempt ), thrown under his feet by the People's Will Ignaty Grinevitsky; died on the day when he intended to approve the constitutional project of M. T. Loris-Melikov. The assassination attempt took place when the emperor was returning after a military divorce in the Mikhailovsky Manege, from “tea” (second breakfast) in the Mikhailovsky Palace with Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna; also attended tea Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, who left a little later, having heard the explosion, and arrived shortly after the second explosion, gave orders and instructions at the scene. The day before, February 28 (March 12), 1881 - (on Saturday of the first week of Great Lent), the emperor in the Small Church of the Winter Palace, along with some other family members, communed the Holy Mysteries.
On March 4, his body was transferred to the Court Cathedral of the Winter Palace; March 7 solemnly transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The funeral service on March 15 was led by Metropolitan Isidor (Nikolsky) of St. Petersburg, co-served by other members of the Holy Synod and a host of clergy.
The death of the "Liberator", who was killed by the Narodnaya Volya on behalf of the "liberated", seemed to many a symbolic end to his reign, which, from the point of view of the conservative part of society, led to rampant "nihilism"; the conciliatory policy of Count Loris-Melikov, who was regarded as a puppet in the hands of Princess Yuryevskaya, aroused particular indignation. Political figures of the right wing (including Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Yevgeny Feoktistov and Konstantin Leontiev) even said with more or less frankness that the emperor died “on time”: had he reigned for another year or two, the catastrophe of Russia (the collapse of the autocracy) would have become inevitable.
Shortly before that, K. P. Pobedonostsev, who had been appointed chief procurator of the Holy Synod, wrote to the new emperor on the very day of the death of Alexander II: “God ordered us to survive this terrible day. It is as if God's punishment fell on unfortunate Russia. I would like to hide my face, go underground, so as not to see, not to feel, not to experience. God have mercy on us.<…>».
The rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archpriest John Yanyshev, on March 2 (14), 1881, before a memorial service in St. Isaac's Cathedral, said in his speech: “<…>The Sovereign not only died, but was also killed in His own capital ... the martyr's crown for His sacred Head is woven on Russian soil, among His subjects ... This is what makes our sorrow unbearable, the disease of the Russian and Christian heart - incurable, our immeasurable disaster - our own eternal disgrace!
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who at a young age was at the bedside of the dying emperor and whose father was in the Mikhailovsky Palace on the day of the assassination attempt, wrote in his emigrant memoirs about his feelings in the days that followed:<…>At night, sitting on our beds, we continued to discuss the disaster of last Sunday and asked each other what will happen next? The image of the late Sovereign, bent over the body of a wounded Cossack and not thinking about the possibility of a second attempt, did not leave us. We understood that something immeasurably greater than our loving uncle and courageous monarch had irretrievably gone with him into the past. Idyllic Russia with the Tsar-Father and his loyal people ceased to exist on March 1, 1881. We understood that the Russian Tsar would never again be able to treat his subjects with boundless trust. He will not be able, forgetting regicide, to devote himself entirely to public affairs. The romantic traditions of the past and the idealistic understanding of the Russian autocracy in the spirit of the Slavophiles - all this will be buried, together with the murdered emperor, in the crypt of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Last Sunday's explosion dealt a mortal blow to the old principles, and no one could deny that the future not only of the Russian Empire, but of the whole world, now depended on the outcome of the inevitable struggle between the new Russian Tsar and the elements of denial and destruction.
The editorial of the Special Supplement to the right-wing conservative newspaper "Rus" dated March 4 read: "The Tsar has been killed! ... Russian the tsar, in his own Russia, in his capital, brutally, barbarously, in front of everyone - by the Russian hand ...<…>Shame, shame on our country!<…>May the burning pain of shame and grief penetrate our land from end to end, and let every soul tremble in it with horror, sorrow, and the wrath of indignation!<…>That scum, which so impudently, so brazenly oppresses the soul of the entire Russian people with crimes, is not the offspring of our very simple people, nor their antiquity, nor even the truly enlightened newness, but the product of the dark sides of the Petersburg period of our history, apostasy from the Russian people, treason its traditions, beginnings and ideals<…>».
At an emergency meeting of the Moscow City Duma, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: “An unheard of and terrifying event has taken place: the Russian Tsar, the liberator of peoples, fell victim to a gang of villains among the many millions of people selflessly devoted to him. Several people, the offspring of darkness and sedition, dared with a blasphemous hand to encroach on the age-old tradition of the great land, to tarnish its history, the banner of which is the Russian Tsar. The Russian people shuddered with indignation and anger at the news of the terrible event.<…>».
In No. 65 (March 8 (20), 1881) of the official newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti, a "hot and frank article" was published, which caused "a stir in the St. Petersburg press." The article, in particular, said: “Petersburg, standing on the outskirts of the state, is teeming with foreign elements. Here both foreigners, thirsting for the disintegration of Russia, and leaders of our outskirts have built a nest for themselves.<…>[Petersburg] is full of our bureaucracy, which has long lost its sense of the people's pulse<…>That is why in Petersburg you can meet a lot of people, apparently Russians, but who argue as enemies of their homeland, as traitors to their people.<…>».
The anti-monarchist representative of the left wing of the Cadets, V. P. Obninsky, in his work “The Last Autocrat” (1912 or later) wrote about regicide: “This act deeply stirred up society and the people. For the murdered sovereign, too outstanding merits were listed for his death to pass without a reflex on the part of the population. And such a reflex could only be a desire for a reaction.
At the same time, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya, a few days after March 1, published a letter in which, along with a statement of the “enforcement of the sentence” to the tsar, contained an “ultimatum” to the new tsar, Alexander III: “If the policy of the government does not change, revolution will be inevitable. The government must express the will of the people, and it is a usurper gang.” A similar statement, which became known to the public, was made by the arrested leader of the "Narodnaya Volya" A. I. Zhelyabov during interrogation on March 2. Despite the arrest and execution of all the leaders of the "Narodnaya Volya", terrorist acts continued in the first 2-3 years of the reign Alexander III.
In the same days of early March, the newspapers Strana and Golos received a “warning” from the government for leading articles “explaining the heinous atrocity of the last days by the system of reaction and as laying responsibility for the misfortune that befell Russia on those of the tsar’s advisers who led the measures of reaction ". In the following days, at the initiative of Loris-Melikov, the newspapers Molva, St. Petersburg Vedomosti, Order and Smolensky Vestnik were closed, which published articles that were “harmful” from the point of view of the government.
In his memoirs, the Azerbaijani satirist and educator Jalil Mammadguluzade, who was a schoolboy at the time of the death of Alexander II, described the reaction of the local population to the assassination of the emperor as follows:
We were allowed to go home. The market and shops were closed. The people were gathered in a mosque, and a forced memorial service was performed there. The mullah climbed the minber and began to paint the merits and merits of the murdered padishah in such a way that in the end he himself burst into tears and caused tears to the worshipers. Then the marsiya was read, and grief for the mortified padishah merged with grief for the imam - the great martyr, and the mosque resounded with heartbreaking cries.
- Cornet of the Guard (17 (29) April 1825)
- Second lieutenant of the guard "for success in the sciences, rendered at the exam in the presence of Their Majesties" (January 7 (19), 1827)
- Lieutenant of the Guard "for distinction in service" (July 1 (13), 1830)
- Staff Captain of the Guard "for success in the sciences, rendered at the exam in the presence of Their Majesties" (May 13 (25), 1831)
- Adjutant Wing (April 17 (29), 1834)
- Colonel (November 10 (22), 1834)
- Major General of the Retinue (December 6 (18), 1836)
- Lieutenant General of the Suite "for distinction in service" (December 6 (18), 1840)
- Adjutant General (April 17 (29), 1843)
- General of Infantry (April 17 (29), 1847)
- Field Marshal "at the request of the army" (April 30 (May 12), 1878)
- Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (5 (17) May 1818)
- Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (5 (17) May 1818)
- Order of St. Anne 1st class (5 (17) May 1818)
- Order of the White Eagle (Kingdom of Poland, 12 (24) May 1829)
- Insignia "For XV years of service in officer ranks" (April 17 (29), 1849)
- Order of St. George 4th class for participation "in the case against the Caucasian highlanders" (November 10 (22), 1850)
- Insignia "For XX years of service in officer ranks" (April 4 (16), 1854)
- Gold medal "For labors for the liberation of the peasants" (April 17 (29), 1861)
- Silver medal "For the conquest of the Western Caucasus" (12 (24) July 1864)
- Cross "For Service in the Caucasus" (12 (24) July 1864)
- Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class (11 (23) June 1865)
- Order of St. George 1st class on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Order (November 26 (December 8), 1869)
- Golden saber, brought by officers of His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy (December 2 (14), 1877)
- Order of the Noble Bukhara - the first to be awarded this order (Bukhara Emirate, 1881)
foreign:
- Prussian Order of the Black Eagle at baptism (5 (17) May 1818)
- French Order of the Holy Spirit (December 13 (25), 1823)
- Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece (13 (25) August 1826)
- Württemberg Order of the Württemberg Crown 1st class (9 (21) November 1826)
- Bavarian Order of St. Hubert (13 (25) April 1829)
- Swedish Order of the Seraphim (8 (20) June 1830)
- Danish Order of the Elephant (23 April (5 May) 1834)
- Netherlands Order of the Netherlands Lion 1st class (December 2 (14), 1834)
- Greek Order of the Savior 1st class (8 (20) November 1835)
- Gold chain to the Danish Order of the Elephant (June 25 (July 7), 1838)
- Hanover Royal Guelph Order (July 18 (30), 1838)
- Saxe-Weimar Order of the White Falcon (30 August (11 September) 1838)
- Neapolitan Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merits (January 20 (February 1), 1839)
- Austrian Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, Grand Cross (20 February (4 March) 1839)
- Baden Order of Fidelity (11 (23) March 1839)
- Baden Order of the Zähringen Lion 1st class (11 (23) March 1839)
- Hesse-Darmstadt Order of Ludwig 1st class (13 (25) March 1839)
- Saxon Order of the Ruth Crown, Grand Cross (March 19 (31), 1840)
- Hanoverian Order of St. George (July 3 (15), 1840)
- Hesse-Darmstadt Order of Philip the Magnanimous 1st class (December 14 (26), 1843)
- Brazilian Order of the Southern Cross (15 (27) May 1845)
- Sardinian Supreme Order of the Holy Annunciation (19 (31) October 1845)
- Saxe-Altenburg Order of the Saxe-Ernestine House, Grand Cross (18 (30) June 1847)
- Hesse-Kassel Order of the Golden Lion (5 (17) August 1847)
- Oldenburg Order of Merit of Duke Peter-Friedrich-Ludwig 1st class (15 (27) October 1847)
- Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st class (7 (19) October 1850)
- Württemberg Order "For Military Merit" 3rd class (December 13 (25), 1850)
- Parma Constantinian Order of Saint George (1850)
- Netherlands Military Order of Wilhelm, Grand Cross (15 (27) September 1855)
- Portuguese Triple Order (27 November (9 December) 1855)
- Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword (27 November (9 December) 1855)
- Brazilian Order of Pedro I (14 (26) February 1856)
- Belgian Order of Leopold I 1st class (May 18 (30), 1856)
- French Order of the Legion of Honor (July 30 (August 11), 1856)
- Prussian bronze medals for 1848 and 1849 (6 (18) August 1857)
- Hesse-Kassel Order of the Golden Lion 1st class (May 1 (13), 1858)
- Turkish Order of Medzhidie 1st class. (1 (13) February 1860)
- Mecklenburg-Schwerin Order of the Wendish Crown on a gold chain (June 21 (July 3), 1864)
- Mexican Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle (6 (18) March 1865)
- British Order of the Garter (16 (28) July 1867)
- Prussian Order "Pour le Mérite" (November 26 (December 8), 1869)
- Turkish order Osmaniye 1st class. (May 25 (June 6), 1871)
- Golden Oak Leaves to the Prussian Order "Pour le Mérite" (November 27 (December 9), 1871)
- Order of Saint Charles of Monaco, Grand Cross (July 3 (15), 1873)
- Austrian Gold Cross for 25 years of service (February 2 (14), 1874)
- Austrian bronze medal (7 (19) February 1874)
- Chain to the Swedish Order of the Seraphim (July 3 (15), 1875)
- Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa 3rd class (November 25 (December 7) 1875)
- Montenegrin Order of Saint Peter of Cetinje
The results of the reign
Alexander II went down in history as a reformer and liberator. In his reign, serfdom was abolished, general military service was introduced, zemstvos were established, judicial reform was carried out, censorship was limited, and a number of other reforms were carried out. The empire expanded significantly due to the conquest and inclusion of the Central Asian possessions, the North Caucasus, Far East and other territories.
At the same time, the country's economic situation worsened: industry was struck by a protracted depression, and there were several cases of mass starvation in the countryside. The deficit of the foreign trade balance and the state external debt (almost 6 billion rubles) reached a large size, which led to the disorder of money circulation and public finance. The problem of corruption has escalated. A split and sharp social contradictions formed in Russian society, which reached their peak by the end of the reign.
Other negative aspects usually include the results of the Berlin Congress of 1878, unfavorable for Russia, exorbitant expenses in the war of 1877-1878, numerous peasant protests (in 1861-1863: more than 1150 speeches), large-scale nationalist uprisings in the kingdom of Poland and the North-Western Territory ( 1863) and in the Caucasus (1877-1878).
Estimates of some of the reforms of Alexander II are contradictory. The liberal press called his reforms "great". At the same time, a significant part of the population (part of the intelligentsia), as well as a number of statesmen of that era, negatively assessed these reforms. So, at the first meeting of the government of Alexander III on March 8 (20), 1881, K. P. Pobedonostsev sharply criticized the peasant, zemstvo, and judicial reforms of Alexander II, calling them “criminal reforms,” and Alexander III actually approved his speech . And many contemporaries and a number of historians argued that the real liberation of the peasants did not happen (only a mechanism for such a liberation was created, and an unfair one at that); corporal punishment against peasants was not abolished (which persisted until 1904-1905); the establishment of zemstvos led to discrimination against the lower classes; judicial reform failed to prevent the growth of judicial and police arbitrariness. In addition, according to experts on the agrarian issue, the peasant reform of 1861 led to the emergence of serious new problems (landowner cuts, the ruin of the peasants), which became one of the reasons for the future revolutions of 1905 and 1917.
The views of modern historians on the era of Alexander II were subject to drastic changes under the influence of the dominant ideology, and are not well-established. Soviet historiography was dominated by a tendentious view of his reign, which followed from the general nihilistic attitudes towards the "era of tsarism." Modern historians, along with the thesis of the "liberation of the peasants", state that their freedom of movement after the reform was "relative". Calling the reforms of Alexander II "great", they at the same time write that the reforms gave rise to "the deepest socio-economic crisis in the countryside", did not lead to the abolition of corporal punishment for peasants, were not consistent, and economic life in 1860-1870 -s yrs. characterized by industrial recession, rampant speculation and grunderstvo.
Private life
“The sovereign’s hair was cut short and well framed a high and beautiful forehead. The facial features are amazingly regular and seem to have been carved by an artist. Blue eyes stand out especially due to the brown tone of the face, weathered during long journeys. The outline of the mouth is so thin and defined that it resembles Greek sculpture. The expression of the face, majestically calm and soft, from time to time is adorned with a gracious smile "- Theophile Gauthier - about the emperor, 1865.
Compared to other Russian emperors, Alexander II spent a lot of time abroad, mainly at balneological resorts in Germany, which was explained by the empress's upset health. It was at one of these resorts, in Ems, that the Marquis de Custine, who was heading to Russia in 1839, met the heir to the throne. In the same place, forty years later, the emperor signed the Emsky Decree, which limited the use of the Ukrainian language. It was Emperor Alexander II who laid the foundation for the favorite summer residence of the last Russian emperors - Livadia. In 1860, the estate was redeemed along with a park, a wine cellar and a 19-hectare vineyard from the daughters of Count Potocki for the wife of the emperor, Maria Alexandrovna, who suffered from tuberculosis and, on the recommendation of doctors, had to recover from the healing air of the southern coast of Crimea. The court architect I. A. Monighetti was invited to the Crimea and the Big and Small Livadia palaces were rebuilt.
“The Sovereign Emperor took daily walks in the morning - to Oreanda, Koreiz, Gaspra, Alupka, Gurzuf, to the forestry and to the Uchan-Su waterfall - in a carriage or on horseback, swam in the sea, walked. In moments of rest, I listened to the beautiful poems of the poet [P. A.] Vyazemsky, who at that time was still at the Court, and, despite his 75 years, seemed cheerful and impressionable, ”- historian and writer Vasily Khristoforovich Kondaraki - about the emperor in the Crimea, 1867.
Alexander II was a particularly passionate hunter. After his accession to the imperial court, bear hunting became fashionable. In 1860, such a hunt in Belovezhskaya Pushcha representatives of the ruling houses of Europe were invited. The trophies obtained by the emperor adorned the walls of the Lisinsky pavilion. The Gatchina Arsenal collection (the armory of the Gatchina Palace) contains a collection of hunting spears, with which Alexander II could personally hunt bears, although this was very risky. Under his patronage, in 1862, the Moscow hunting society named after Alexander II was created.
The emperor contributed to the popularization of skating in Russia. This passion swept the St. Petersburg high society after in 1860 Alexander ordered to flood the skating rink near the Mariinsky Palace, where he loved to ride with his daughter in full view of the townspeople.
As of March 1 (13), 1881, the personal capital of Alexander II was about 12 million rubles. (securities, tickets of the State Bank, shares of railway companies); from personal funds, he donated 1 million rubles in 1880. on the construction of a hospital in memory of the Empress.
Alexander II suffered from asthma. According to the memoirs of Princess Yuryevskaya, she always had several pillows with oxygen at hand, which she let Alexander Nikolaevich inhale during attacks of illness.
A family
Alexander was an amorous man. In his youth, he was in love with the maid of honor Borodzina, who was urgently married off, after which there was a connection with the maid of honor Maria Vasilyevna Trubetskoy (in her first marriage Stolypina, in the second Vorontsova), who later became the mistress of Alexander Baryatinsky and had a son Nikolai from him. The lady-in-waiting Sofia Davydova was in love with Alexandra, because of this she went to the monastery. When she was already Mother Superior Maria, the eldest son of Alexander Nikolaevich, Nikolai Alexandrovich, saw her during his trip to Russia in the summer of 1863.
Later he fell in love with the maid of honor Olga Kalinovskaya, flirted with Queen Victoria. But, having already chosen the Princess of Hesse as a bride, he again resumed relations with Kalinovskaya and even wanted to abdicate in order to marry her. Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse, who was called before her adoption of Orthodoxy Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt. On December 5 (17), 1840, the princess, having accepted chrismation, converted to Orthodoxy and was given a new name - Maria Alexandrovna, and after her betrothal to Alexander Nikolayevich on December 6 (18), 1840, she became known as the Grand Duchess with the title of Imperial Highness.
Alexander's mother opposed this marriage due to rumors that the duke's chamberlain was the real father of the princess, but the prince insisted on his own. Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna lived in marriage for almost 40 years, and for many years the marriage was happy. A.F. Tyutcheva calls Maria Alexandrovna "a happy wife and mother, idolized by her father-in-law (Emperor Nicholas I)". The couple had eight children.
- Alexandra (1842-1849);
- Nicholas (1843-1865);
- Alexander III (1845-1894);
- Vladimir (1847-1909);
- Alexey (1850-1908);
- Maria (1853-1920);
- Sergei (1857-1905);
- Pavel (1860-1919).
But, as the observant Count Sheremetev writes, "it seems to me that the sovereign Alexander Nikolaevich was stuffy with her." The count notes that since the 60s she was surrounded by friends A. Bludova, A. Maltseva, who did not hide their disdain for the emperor and in every possible way contributed to the alienation of the spouses. The king, in turn, was also annoyed by these women, which did not contribute to the rapprochement of the spouses.
After accession to the throne, the emperor began to have favorites, from whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. One of them was the maid of honor Alexandra Sergeevna Dolgorukova, who, according to Sheremetev, “possessed the mind and heart of the sovereign and, like no one else, studied his character.”
In 1866 he became close and began to meet in summer garden with 18-year-old Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922), who became the closest and most trusted person for the tsar, she eventually settled in the Winter Palace and gave birth to illegitimate children to the emperor:
- His Serene Highness Prince Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky (1872-1913);
- Most Serene Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya (1873-1925);
- Boris (1876-1876), posthumously legalized with the assignment of the surname "Yurievsky";
- His Serene Highness Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya (1878-1959), married to Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Baryatinsky, and later to Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky.
After the death of his wife, without waiting for the expiration of a year of mourning, Alexander II entered into a morganatic marriage with Princess Dolgorukova, who received the title Serene Highness Princess Yuryevskaya. The wedding allowed the emperor to legitimize their common children.
Memory of Alexander II
The memory of the "Tsar-Liberator" was immortalized in many cities of the Russian Empire and Bulgaria by erecting monuments. After the October Revolution, most of them were demolished. The monuments in Sofia and Helsinki have been preserved intact. Separate monuments were recreated after the fall communist regime. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built on the site of the emperor's death at the hands of terrorists. There is an extensive filmography. For more information about perpetuating the memory of the monarch, see the article Memory of Alexander II.
As noted in the literature dedicated to the heroes of the historical memory of Russian society, the image of Alexander II changed depending on the social order: “liberator” - “victim” - “serf owner”, but at the same time, which is characteristic, Alexander Nikolayevich almost always spoke (and even today appears) in the information space rather as a “background” figure for the inevitable historical process than its active figure. This is a striking difference between Alexander II and those historical figures whose image reflects the positive consensus of historical memory (such as Alexander Nevsky or Pyotr Stolypin) or, on the contrary, its conflicting objects (such as Stalin or Ivan the Terrible). The main feature of the emperor's image is constant doubts and indecision.
The head of the government of Alexander II P. A. Valuev: “The sovereign did not have and, however, could not have a clear idea of what was called the “reforms” of his time.”
Fraylina A.F. Tyutchev: he had “a kind, warm and philanthropic heart ... he had a mind that suffered from a lack of breadth and outlook, and Alexander was also little enlightened ... was not able to grasp the value and importance of the reforms he was consistently implementing” .
Minister of War of Alexander II D. A. Milyutin: was a weak-willed emperor. "The late sovereign was completely in the hands of Princess Yuryevskaya."
According to S.Yu. Witte, who knew Alexander III well, the latter did not approve of his father’s marriage to Princess Yuryevskaya “after the age of 60, when He already had so many fully grown children and even grandchildren,” and considered him weak in character: “In In recent years, when He already had experience, I saw that ... this turmoil, which was at the end of the reign of His Father, ... came from the insufficiently firm character of His Father, thanks to which Emperor Alexander II often hesitated, and finally fell into family sin.
Historian N. A. Rozhkov: “Weak-minded, indecisive, always hesitant, cowardly, limited”; was distinguished by extravagance and "licentiousness of morals."
Historian P. A. Zaionchkovsky: “he was a very ordinary person”; "often consigned to oblivion the national interests of the country he ruled"; “The vital necessity of these reforms for further development Alexander II did not understand Russia... In certain periods of history, there are moments when insignificant people who are not aware of the significance of what is happening are at the head of events. Such was Alexander II.
Historian N. Ya. Eidelman: "he was more limited than his father" (Nicholas I).
“Alexander II embarked on the path of liberation reforms not because of his convictions, but as a military man who realized the lessons of the Crimean War, as an emperor and autocrat, for whom the prestige and greatness of the state were above all. An important role was played by the properties of his character - kindness, cordiality, susceptibility to the ideas of humanism .... Not being a reformer by vocation, by temperament, Alexander II became one in response to the needs of the time as a man of a sober mind and good will.Historian L. G. Zakharova
Future king Alexander II was born on April 29 (April 17, old style), 1818. From birth, the first-born of the imperial couple Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna was perceived as a potential heir to the throne, because the elder brothers of the king had no children. Therefore, special attention was paid to the upbringing and education of the future emperor. Sacred history and the Law of God taught him Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky, taught arithmetic academic Collins, the basics of military affairs - Colonel Karl Merder, and legislation - statesman Mikhail Speransky. The teacher of the Russian language and the main mentor of Alexander Nikolaevich, responsible for his education and upbringing, was a court adviser, poet Vasily Zhukovsky.
The main direction of Russia's domestic policy during the reign of Alexander II was liberal reforms, nicknamed "great". In the 1860-70s, financial, zemstvo, judicial, censorship, military reforms, reforms of secondary and higher education, and city government were carried out. Crowning this list of transformations is the peasant reform. On March 3 (February 19, old style), 1861, the emperor signed two documents: "Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom" and "Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom." According to them, the peasants ceased to be considered serfs and received the status of "temporarily liable". They were endowed with a house adjoining plot and a field plot, for the use of which the peasants had to serve corvee or pay dues for 49 years.
Alaska is also associated with the name of Alexander II: a peninsula sold by the emperor to the United States of America in 1867. This remote possession was costly to the treasury, it was also believed that in case of war it would be difficult to defend it. Nevertheless, under Alexander II, Russia significantly expanded its borders, the territories of Central Asia, the North Caucasus, the Far East and Bessarabia were annexed to it.
The personal life of the king has always been at the hearing of his contemporaries. In his youth, he often fell in love with court ladies-in-waiting, with some he had stormy romances. One of the ladies of Alexander's heart was a young Queen Victoria whom he met during a trip to London in 1839. In 1841, the twenty-three-year-old heir to the throne married the seventeen-year-old princess of the House of Hesse, who in Orthodoxy received the name Maria Alexandrovna. Being married, the emperor continued to have an affair, and by the end of 1870 he began to live in two families, without particularly hiding it. Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, the young mistress of the tsar, together with their common illegitimate children, lived in separate chambers in the Winter Palace, next to the lawful wife of Alexander II.
In July 1880, a few months after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, the emperor married Catherine. The wedding took place hastily, before the end of the mourning. Alexander II wanted to crown his chosen one and make their common children heirs to the throne, but did not have time: their family happiness with Dolgorukova lasted less than a year. On March 13 (March 1, old style), 1881, the emperor died as a result of another (sixth) assassination attempt. The wound received from a bomb thrown under his feet by the People's Will Ignaty Grinevitsky turned out to be fatal.
Alexander I was born on April 29, 1818, in Moscow. In honor of his birth in Moscow, a volley of 201 guns was fired. The birth of Alexander II took place during the reign of Alexander I, who had no children, and the first brother of Alexander I, Constantine, did not have imperial ambitions, because of which the son of Nicholas I, Alexander II, was immediately considered as the future emperor. When Alexander II was 7 years old, his father had already become emperor.
Nicholas I approached the education of his son very responsibly. Alexander received an excellent home education. His teachers were outstanding minds of that time, such as lawyer Mikhail Speransky, poet Vasily Zhukovsky, financier Yegor Kankrin and others. Alexander studied the Law of God, legislation, foreign policy, physical and mathematical sciences, history, statistics, chemistry and technology. In addition, he studied military sciences. Mastered English, German and French. The poet Vasily Zhukovsky was appointed educator of the future emperor, who at the same time was Alexander's teacher of the Russian language.
Alexander II in his youth. Unknown artist. OK. 1830
Alexander's father personally oversaw his education by attending Alexander's examinations, which he himself arranged every two years. Nikolai also attracted his son to state affairs: from the age of 16, Alexander had to attend meetings of the Senate, later Alexander became a member of the Synod. In 1836, Alexander was promoted to major general and included in the retinue of the king.
The training ended with a trip to the Russian Empire and Europe.
Nicholas I, from the "admonition" to his son before a trip to Russia: “Your first duty will be to see everything with the indispensable goal of getting to know in detail the state over which sooner or later you are determined to reign. Therefore, your attention should be equally directed to everything ... in order to get an idea of the real state of things.
In 1837, Alexander, in the company of Zhukovsky, adjutant Kavelin, and several other people close to him, made a great trip around Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia.
Nicholas I, from the "admonition" to his son before a trip to Europe: “Many things will seduce you, but on closer examination you will see that not everything is worthy of imitation; ... we must always preserve our nationality, our imprint, and woe to us if we leave it behind; it is our strength, our salvation, our originality.”
In 1838-1839 Alexander visited the countries of Central Europe, Scandinavia, Italy and England. In Germany he met his future wife, Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of the Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, with whom they married two years later.
The beginning of the reign
The throne of the Russian Empire went to Alexander on March 3, 1855. In this difficult time for Russia, the Crimean War, in which Russia had no allies, and the adversaries were the advanced European powers (Turkey, France, England, Prussia and Sardinia). The war for Russia at the time of Alexander's accession to the throne was almost completely lost. The first important step of Alexander was to reduce the country's losses to a minimum, the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty in 1856. After the emperor visited France and Poland, where he spoke with calls to “stop dreams” (meaning dreams of defeating Russia), later he entered into an alliance with the king of Prussia, forming a “dual alliance”. Such actions greatly weakened the foreign policy isolation of the Russian Empire, in which it was during the Crimean War.
However, the problem of the war was not the only one that the new emperor inherited from the hands of his late father: the peasant, Polish and Eastern issues were not resolved. In addition, the economy in the country was severely depleted by the Crimean War.
Nicholas I, before his death, addressing his son: “I hand over my team to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order I wanted, leaving you a lot of work and worries”
Period of Great Reforms
Initially, Alexander supported his father's conservative policy, but long-standing problems could no longer remain unresolved, and Alexander began a reform policy.
In December 1855, the Supreme Censorship Committee was closed and the free issue of foreign passports was allowed. In the summer of 1856, on the occasion of the coronation, the new emperor granted amnesty to the Decembrists, Petrashevists (freethinkers who were going to rebuild the state system in Russia, arrested by the government of Nicholas I) and participants in the Polish uprising. A “thaw” began in the socio-political life of the country.
In addition, Alexander II liquidated in 1857 military settlements, established under Alexander I.
The next decision was peasant question, which greatly hampered the development of capitalism in the Russian Empire and every year increased the gap from the advanced European powers.
Alexander II, from an address to the nobles in March 1856: “Rumors are circulating that I want to announce the emancipation of serfdom. It's not fair... But I won't tell you that I'm totally against it. We live in such an age that in time this must happen ... It is much better for it to happen from above than from below.
The reform of this phenomenon was prepared for a long time and carefully, and only in 1861 Alexander II signed Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and Regulations on peasants leaving serfdom, compiled by trusted persons of the emperors, for the most part liberals such as Nikolai Milyutin, Yakov Rostovtsev and others. However, the liberal attitude of the developers of the reform was suppressed by the nobility, who for the most part did not want to lose any personal benefits. For this reason, the reform was carried out more in the interests of the nobility than in the interests of the people, since the peasants received only personal freedom and civil rights, and they had to buy land for the needs of the peasants from the landowners. Nevertheless, the government helped the peasants with the redemption of subsidies, which allowed the peasants to immediately buy the land, remaining indebted to the state. Despite these aspects, Alexander II for this reform was immortalized in history as the "tsar-liberator".
Reading of the Manifesto of 1861 by Alexander II on Smolnaya Square in St. Petersburg. Artist A.D. Kivshenko.
The reform of serfdom was followed by a series of reforms. The abolition of serfdom created a new type of economy, while the finances built on the feudal system reflected its outdated type of development. In 1863, the Financial Reform was carried out. In the process of this reform, the State Bank of the Russian Empire and the Main Redemption Institution under the Ministry of Finance were created. The first step was the emergence of the principle of publicity in the formation of the state budget, which made it possible to minimize embezzlement. Treasuries were also created to administer all state revenues. Taxation after the reform began to resemble modern, with the division of taxes into direct and indirect.
In 1863, an education reform was carried out, which made secondary and higher education accessible, a network of public schools was created, and schools for commoners were created. Universities received a special status and relative autonomy, which in turn had a positive impact on the conditions of scientific activity and the prestige of the teaching profession.
The next major reform was Zemstvo reform carried out in July 1864. According to this reform, local self-government bodies were created: zemstvos and city dumas, which themselves resolved economic and budgetary issues.
There was a need for a new judicial system to govern the country. In 1864, the Judicial Reform was also carried out, which guaranteed the equality of all classes before the law. The institution of juries was created. Also, most of the meetings became open and public. All meetings were competitive.
In 1874, a military reform was carried out. This reform was motivated by the humiliating defeat of Russia in the Crimean War, where all the shortcomings of the Russian army and its lagging behind the European ones surfaced. It provided transition from recruitment to universal conscription and reduction in terms of service. As a result of the reform, the size of the army was reduced by 40%, a network of military and cadet schools for people from all classes was created, Main Headquarters armies and military districts, the rearmament of the army and navy, the abolition of corporal punishment in the army and the establishment of military courts and military procurators with adversarial lawsuits.
Historians have noted that Alexander II made decisions on reforms not because of his own convictions but by understanding their necessity. So we can conclude that for Russia of that era they were forced.
Territorial changes and wars under Alexander II
Internal and external wars during the reign of Alexander II were successful. The Caucasian War successfully ended in 1864, as a result of which the entire North Caucasus was captured by Russia. According to the Aigun and Beijing treaties with the Chinese Empire, Russia annexed the Amur and Ussuri regions in 1858-1860. In 1863, the emperor successfully suppressed an uprising in Poland. In 1867-1873, the territory of Russia increased due to the conquest of the Turkestan Territory and the Ferghana Valley and the voluntary entry into the vassal rights of the Emirate of Bukhara and the Khiva Khanate.
In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) was sold to the United States for $7 million. Which at that time was a bargain for Russia in view of the remoteness of these territories and for the sake of good relations with the United States.
Growth of dissatisfaction with the activities of Alexander II, assassination attempts and murder
During the reign of Alexander II, unlike his predecessors, there were more than enough social protests. Numerous peasant uprisings (dissatisfied with the conditions of the peasant reform of the peasants), the Polish uprising and, as a result, the attempts of the emperor to Russify Poland led to waves of discontent. In addition, numerous protest groups appeared among the intelligentsia and workers, who formed circles. Numerous circles began to propagate revolutionary ideas with "going to the people." Government attempts to bring these processes under control only exacerbated the process. For example, in the process of 193 populists, society was outraged by the actions of the government.
“In general, in all strata of the population, some kind of indefinite displeasure is manifested, which has seized everyone. Everyone complains about something and seems to want and wait for a change.
Assassinations and terror of important government officials spread. While the audience literally applauded the terrorists. Terrorist organizations grew more and more so, for example, "Narodnaya Volya", which sentenced Alexander II to death by the end of the 70s, had more than a hundred active members.
Plason Anton-Antonovich, a contemporary of Alexander II: “Only during an armed uprising that has already flared up is there such a panic that seized everyone in Russia at the end of the 70s and in the 80s. In all of Russia, everyone fell silent in clubs, in hotels, on the streets and in the markets ... And both in the provinces and in St. Petersburg, everyone was waiting for something unknown, but terrible, no one was sure of the future "
Alexander II literally did not know what to do and was completely at a loss. In addition to the discontent of society, the emperor had problems in the family: in 1865, his eldest son Nikolai died, his death undermined the health of the empress. As a result, there was complete alienation in the emperor's family. Alexander came to his senses a little when he met Ekaterina Dolgoruky, but this connection also caused censure from society.
Prime Minister Pyotr Valuev: “The sovereign looks tired and himself spoke of nervous irritation, which he intensifies to hide. Crowned ruin. In an era where strength is needed in him, obviously you can’t count on it. ”
Osip Komissarov. Photo from the collection of M.Yu. Meshchaninov
The first attempt on the tsar was carried out on April 4, 1866 by a member of the Hell society (a society adjoining the People and Will organization) Dmitry Karakozov, he tried to shoot at the tsar, but at the moment of the shot he was pushed by a peasant Osip Komisarov (later a hereditary nobleman).
“I don’t know what, but my heart somehow especially beat when I saw this man who hastily made his way through the crowd; I involuntarily followed him, but then, however, forgot him when the sovereign approached. Suddenly I see that he took out and aims a pistol: it instantly seemed to me that if I threw myself at him or pushed his hand to the side, he would kill someone else or me, and I involuntarily and forcefully pushed his hand up; then I don’t remember anything, how I was bewildered myself.
The second assassination attempt was carried out in Paris on May 25, 1867 by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky, but the bullet hit the horse.
On April 2, 1879, a member of Narodnaya Volya, Alexander Solovyov, fired 5 shots at the emperor from a distance of 10 steps, when he, unguarded and escorted, was walking around the outskirts of the Winter Palace, but not a single bullet hit the target.
On November 19 of the same year, members of Narodnaya Volya unsuccessfully tried to mine the tsar's train. The emperor again smiled luck.
On February 5, 1880, Stepan Khalturin, a Narodnaya Volya member, undermined the Winter Palace, but only soldiers from his personal guard died, the emperor himself and his family were not injured.
Photo of the halls of the Winter Palace after the explosion.
Alexander II died on March 1, 1881, an hour after another assassination attempt from the explosion of a second bomb thrown under his feet on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by the People's Will Ignaty Grinevitsky. The emperor died on the day when he intended to approve Loris-Melikov's constitutional project.
The results of the reign
Alexander II went down in history as a "tsar-liberator" and a reformer, although the reforms carried out did not fully solve many of Russia's age-old problems. The territory of the country has increased significantly, despite the loss of Alaska.
However, the economic condition of the country worsened under him: the industry plunged into depression, the state and external debt reached large sizes, and a deficit in the foreign trade balance formed, which led to a breakdown in finance and monetary relations. The society was already so restless, and by the end of the reign, a complete split formed in it.
Personal life
Alexander II often spent time abroad, was a passionate lover of hunting large animals, loved ice skating and greatly popularized this phenomenon. He himself suffered from asthma.
He himself was a very amorous person, during a trip to Europe after his studies he fell in love with Queen Victoria.
He was twice married and married. From his first marriage with Maria Alexandrovna (Maximiliana of Hesse) he had 8 children, including Alexander III. From his second marriage with Ekaterina Dolgorukova, he had 4 children.
Family of Alexander II. Photo by Sergey Levitsky.
In memory of Alexander II, the Church of the Savior on Blood was erected at the site of his death.